GRADE 8: Earth and space 1. UNIT 8E.1 8 hours. The Solar System. Resources. About this unit. Previous learning. Expectations

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1 GRADE 8: Earth and space 1 The Solar System UNIT 8E.1 8 hours About this unit This is the only unit on Earth and Space in Grade 8. This unit builds on work done in Grade 6 and leads into work on the wider Universe in Grade 9. The unit is designed to guide your planning and teaching of lessons on Earth and space. It provides a link between the standards for science and your lesson plans. The teaching and learning activities should help you to plan the content and pace of lessons. Adapt the ideas to meet your students needs. For extension or consolidation activities, look at the scheme of work for Grade 9 and Grade 6. You can also supplement the activities with appropriate tasks and exercises from your school s textbooks and other resources. Introduce the unit to students by summarising what they will learn and how this builds on earlier work. Review the unit at the end, drawing out the main learning points, links to other work and real life applications. Previous learning To meet the expectations of this unit, students should already know how the relative movement of the Sun, Earth and Moon causes day and night, the seasons and the phases of the Moon. They should know that the Sun is a star and, like all stars, is a source of light, whereas we see the Moon in reflected light. Expectations By the end of the unit, students explain night and day, eclipses, seasons and phases of the Moon in terms of the Sun Earth Moon system. They describe the relative positions of the planets and their conditions compared with conditions on Earth, and identify some planets in the night sky. They know that the Sun is a star and that it radiates light and heat but that we can see the Moon and the planets because they reflect light from the Sun. They recount a number of uses for artificial satellites. They assess evidence for our modern understanding of the Solar System and show how this understanding has evolved over time. Students who progress further explain how the Moon causes tides and explain spring and neap tides. They explain how a geosynchronous satellite can appear stationary. They identify visible planets in the night sky and explain why Venus and Mercury are only visible either in the evening or in the morning. They know that our understanding of science often proceeds in major leaps and that these can be difficult for societies to accept. They explain the origins of the Solar System. Resources The main resources needed for this unit are: star maps and access to a telescope data and photographs from the planets sent back by US planetary exploration spacecraft Internet access display software and projection equipment Key vocabulary and technical terms Students should understand, use and spell correctly: spring tide, neap tide, gravity seasons, lunar eclipse, solar eclipse satellite, orbit, geostationary planet, asteroid, rotational period, orbital period, moon names of the planets star, ecliptic, comet astronomical unit 227 Qatar science scheme of work Grade 8 Unit 8E.1 Earth and space 1 Education Institute 2005

2 Standards for the unit Unit 8E.1 8 hours SUPPORTING STANDARDS CORE STANDARDS Grade 8 standards EXTENSION STANDARDS 3 hours The movement of the Earth and Moon 5 hours The Solar System Know that the Sun and stars are light sources and that the Sun is the source of our daylight Know the causes of eclipses of the Sun and the Moon Know that the Earth orbits the Sun once every year Explain night and day, eclipses, seasons, tides, and phases of the Moon in terms of the movement and relative sizes of the Sun, Earth and Moon Describe the relative positions of the planets, and their conditions compared with conditions on Earth Be able to identify some planets in the night sky; know that we can see them and the Moon because they reflect light from the Sun Describe how planets are formed when a star attracts the remains of an older exploded star into a disc around it by gravitational attraction Explain that we see the Moon at night because it is an illuminated object that reflects light from the Sun Know that the Sun is a star and that, like all stars, it radiates light and heat Know that the source of the Sun s heat and light is a nuclear reaction in which matter is turned into energy Recount a number of uses for artificial satellites Assess evidence for our modern understanding of the Solar System and show how this understanding has evolved over time Understand the importance of the Sun Earth Moon system in telling the time. Know the reasons for the differences between the Islamic calendar and the Gregorian calendar Assess the importance of the work of specific scientists in developing our understanding of science. 228 Qatar science scheme of work Grade 8 Unit 8E.1 Earth and space 1 Education Institute 2005

3 Activities Unit 8E.1 Objectives Possible teaching activities Notes School resources 3 hours The movement of the Earth and Moon Know that the Sun is a star and that, like all stars, it radiates light and heat. Explain night and day, eclipses, seasons, tides, and phases of the Moon in terms of the movement and relative sizes of the Sun, Earth and Moon. Recount a number of uses for artificial satellites. Understand the importance of the Sun Earth Moon system in telling the time. Know the reasons for the differences between the Islamic calendar and the Gregorian calendar. If possible, work on this unit should involve some observations of the night sky. If there is no telescope or observatory that students can visit, much can be done using only binoculars. A star map should be obtained and displayed. Recall work from Grade 6 on the movement of the Earth. Ask students to explain the cause of day and night and the seasons and eclipses. Use a model if one is available. Ensure that students understand that the Sun is a star and radiates light and heat. Correct any errors. Tides Obtain tide tables for Doha harbour, preferably showing the days of the neap and spring tides each month as well as daily high and low tides. Note that high tides occur about every 12.5 hours: about two high tides per day. Ask students if they can recall the position of the Moon in the sky at the high tide point during the night (it is a good idea to do this around full Moon). Show on a model the position of the Moon at each high tide point during the day, noting that at high tide the Moon is either overhead or diametrically at the other side of the Earth. Ask for suggestions about what might cause the tides. Remind students that the Moon exerts a gravitational pull and that this can cause the water and air on Earth to bulge in the direction of the Moon. It is more difficult to explain the second bulge in the opposite direction (but you could talk about the Moon attracting the Earth away from the seawater). More advanced students will probably be able to understand and explain, in terms of the movement of the Moon, why the tidal cycle is about 25 hours and not 24. They may also be able to offer an explanation for neap and spring tides if they are reminded that the Sun also exerts a gravitational attraction on the Earth (of about a fortieth the size of that of the Moon). Star maps can be downloaded free from a number of websites such as and /nightsky/observingnotes.shtml. Multimedia astronomy software is also available. Java applets showing how the tides are affected by the positions of the Sun and the Moon can be found on the Internet. Use this column to note your own school s resources, e.g. textbooks, worksheets. Artificial satellites Obtain data on the orbit of a large artificial satellite such as the International Space Station (ISS) and ask students to look out for it when it is visible in the evening or early morning (i.e. when it is not in the Earth s shadow) over Qatar. Ask them why it is possible to see such satellites? Some students may have noticed that the satellite they saw may have suddenly apparently disappeared; challenge them for an explanation. Ask students to list all the uses of artificial satellites that they can think of. If possible, show them some in the classroom (e.g. satellite radio and TV, GPS (Global Positioning System) including photographs from satellites such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the ISS). This activity can be turned into a useful and interesting display. Explain that all satellites must be moving in order to stay in orbit. Use a ball on a string (outside) to demonstrate that if a satellite slows it will no longer continue to orbit. Show also that the longer the string, the longer will be the period of orbit. Challenge them to explain how it is possible for a TV or radio satellite to remain always in the same place in the sky. Sightings of the ISS for all major cities are listed on the NASA website at spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/ 229 Qatar science scheme of work Grade 8 Unit 8E.1 Earth and space 1 Education Institute 2005

4 Objectives Possible teaching activities Notes School resources Calendars Some students may have done an exercise in Grade 6 to compare the Saudi Islamic and Gregorian calendars, such as that set out in Lesson plan 6.4. Re-examine this here, with a greater emphasis on how calendars have evolved to overcome the difficulty of using the lunar month as a unit in a calendar that, for agricultural reasons, must be based on seasons. Lesson plan 6.4 shows the Gregorian compromise made in the traditional length of the lunar month so that the calendar year has exactly twelve months. Information on the World s calendars can be found on Lesson plan hours The Solar System Describe the relative positions of the planets, and their conditions compared with conditions on Earth. Be able to identify some planets in the night sky; know that we can see them and the Moon because they reflect light from the Sun. Assess evidence for our modern understanding of the Solar System and show how this understanding has evolved over time. Assess the importance of the work of specific scientists in developing our understanding of science. The planets Tell students to work in groups and ask each group to find out all they can about one planet. The Internet is an important source of information, and good photographs of all the planets exist. Tell groups that the main object of their work is to create a display and make a presentation to the others about their planet. This can be done using display software and projection equipment if it is available. Create a large outline table to contain basic information about the planets and ask each group to complete the column for their planet. The information can include such details as size, distance from the Sun, rotational and orbital periods, surface temperature, number of moons and nature of the atmosphere. Introduce students to the astronomical unit as a convenient unit of length for recording planetary orbit radii. Ensure that students realise that we see the planets because they reflect light from the Sun, in the same way as the Moon. Observing planets If possible, arrange opportunities for students to observe the naked eye planets using a telescope. The positions of these planets in the night sky are published on many websites. Useful observations to make are of: Venus, which is always visible only partially illuminated, like a new Moon. Mars, noting its red colour. With a good telescope, its one moon can be seen. Jupiter, whose four large moons are visible clearly in a telescope; plot their movement over several hours (or days). A good telescope will show the red spot. Saturn, whose rings are clearly visible, as is its largest moon, Titan. Tell students to keep a diary of their observations, including sketches where appropriate. Ensure that students can identify the visible planets in the night sky using a star map. Explain that they are all to be found on the ecliptic, the plane bounded by the apparent path in the sky followed by the Sun and the Moon, and have characteristic features such as brightness and colour. Challenge students in class to explain, using models if necessary, why the planets are only visible on the ecliptic and why Venus (and Mercury) is only visible in the evening and the morning. ICT opportunities: Use of the Internet. See the NASA website for photographs from various planetary missions. Use of display software. Enquiry skill Qatar science scheme of work Grade 8 Unit 8E.1 Earth and space 1 Education Institute 2005

5 Objectives Possible teaching activities Notes School resources Galileo and Copernicus Ask students to find out about the history of our understanding of the relative motion of the Earth and the Sun, especially the work of Copernicus and Galileo. Of particular interest is the difficulty experienced in the seventeenth century by Galileo in publishing his observations and conclusions that the Earth moved around the Sun when the conventional view (held as sacred by the powerful Catholic Church) at the time in southern Europe was the opposite. Copernicus, living in a different part of Europe, did not face this opposition when he published the same conclusions. Encourage more advanced students to reflect on other major changes in scientific understanding that they have studied (e.g. Newton and gravity) and note that our scientific understanding often develops by major leaps that are sometimes controversial and not readily accepted by the societies in which the scientists live. Advise them that in Grade 9 they will meet more examples when they study the work of Mendel and Darwin in biology and Bohr s atomic theory. How the Solar System was formed Ask students to search on the Internet or in books for ideas on the origin of the Solar System. Two ideas may emerge: one is that matter was thrown out of the Sun and condensed and coalesced to form the planets; and the second now universally accepted is that the Sun attracted some debris from a long-exploded star or other source and that this formed a disc that gradually coalesced into planets. Ask students to assess the evidence for and against these ideas. You may have to provide some of the evidence if students do not. The possible origins of the asteroid belt as an example of a planet in the process of gradually forming, or as an example of a planet that has in the past formed but then been disrupted by a major impact can be discussed. Discuss the asteroid belt. Ask students to consider whether it could be, for example: an early stage in the formation of a new planet; the result of the destruction of a planet by a major impact; the material left over after the formation of the planets. Ask advanced students to evaluate evidence for asteroid impacts on Earth in the past, in particular the theory that links such impacts with extinctions of major species, such as the dinosaurs. Teach advanced students about the Kuiper belt, the origins and orbit of comets, and the cause of the comet tail. Pages on the work of these two scientists can be found on the Internet. Of particular interest to this unit is Galileo s telescopic observations of Venus and of the moons of Jupiter, both of which were important evidence to suggest that Earth was a planet. Enquiry skill ICT opportunity: Use of the Internet. Current estimates put the age of the Solar System at about 4.5 billion years. Enquiry skill 8.1.6? 231 Qatar science scheme of work Grade 8 Unit 8E.1 Earth and space 1 Education Institute 2005

6 Assessment Unit 8E.1 Examples of assessment tasks and questions Notes School resources Assessment Set up activities that allow students to demonstrate what they have learned in this unit. The activities can be provided informally or formally during and at the end of the unit, or for homework. They can be selected from the teaching activities or can be new experiences. Choose tasks and questions from the examples to incorporate in the activities. Which of these diagrams best represents the movement of the Sun, Earth and Moon? Draw a diagram to show the positions of the Sun, Earth and Moon at the time of a spring tide. Explain why this arrangement causes such a high tide. Explain, using a diagram, why the planet Venus is never seen overhead in the night sky. State two similarities between Earth and the planet Venus. State two differences between Earth and the planets Saturn and Jupiter. Scientists are interested in knowing whether life exists on any of the other planets in the Solar System. Provide arguments for and against the possibility of life existing on the planets Venus, Mars and Jupiter. The diagram below shows an eclipse. a. State whether this is a solar or a lunar eclipse. b. From the diagram, decide which of the following statements is true. A. The eclipse can only occur when there is a new Moon. B. The eclipse can only occur when there is no Moon visible in the sky. C. The eclipse can only occur when there is a full Moon. D. The eclipse can only occur during the winter. 232 Qatar science scheme of work Grade 8 Unit 8E.1 Earth and space 1 Education Institute 2005